Effects of Land Use on Butterfly (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae) Abundance and Diversity in the Tropical Coastal Regions of Guyana and Australia
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ResearchOnline@JCU This file is part of the following work: Sambhu, Hemchandranauth (2018) Effects of land use on butterfly (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae) abundance and diversity in the tropical coastal regions of Guyana and Australia. PhD Thesis, James Cook University. Access to this file is available from: https://doi.org/10.25903/5bd8e93df512e Copyright © 2018 Hemchandranauth Sambhu The author has certified to JCU that they have made a reasonable effort to gain permission and acknowledge the owners of any third party copyright material included in this document. If you believe that this is not the case, please email [email protected] EFFECTS OF LAND USE ON BUTTERFLY (LEPIDOPTERA: NYMPHALIDAE) ABUNDANCE AND DIVERSITY IN THE TROPICAL COASTAL REGIONS OF GUYANA AND AUSTRALIA _____________________________________________ By: Hemchandranauth Sambhu B.Sc. (Biology), University of Guyana, Guyana M.Sc. (Res: Plant and Environmental Sciences), University of Warwick, United Kingdom A thesis Prepared for the College of Science and Engineering, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy James Cook University February, 2018 DEDICATION ________________________________________________________ I dedicate this thesis to my wife, Alliea, and to our little girl who is yet to make her first appearance in this world. i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ________________________________________________________ I would like to thank the Australian Government through their Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade for graciously offering me a scholarship (Australia Aid Award – AusAid) to study in Australia. From the time of my departure from my home country in 2014, Alex Salvador, Katherine Elliott and other members of the AusAid team have always ensured that the highest quality of care was extended to me as a foreign student in a distant land. I am indebted to Steve Turton for agreeing to supervise me for my Ph.D. Having Steve as my primary supervisor worked out extremely well for me. He was always supportive, encouraging and approachable. When I was conducting fieldwork in Guyana, he always made himself available to have Skype chats at odd hours (being halfway around the world from each other, Australia and Guyana have a time difference of 14 hours) and provided invaluable guidance at a crucial stage of my research, at the beginning when things can easily go wrong and one can get overwhelmed by all of the initial paperwork and logistics. It was an uncertain time for me when Steve moved on from James Cook University and, as a result, from my advisory team. Before departing, however, he put me in the capable hands of Tobin Northfield. Naturally, I was a bit nervous at first about how this transition would go and if it would impact on my research and timeline in any way. After spending a short period of time with Tobin, however, I was delighted to learn that I had nothing to worry about. Tobin has been beyond what I was expecting of a Ph.D. supervisor, not only in the academic sense but also in the tremendous efforts made by him, Kirsten (his wife) and Micaiah (his son) in making myself and my wife, Alliea, feel as though we had ii family away from home. I especially enjoyed the discussions I had with little Micaiah and learnt a great deal from him as well. Having that sense of comfort allowed me to be relaxed and get the most out of my interactions with Tobin. He has been most understanding, helpful and encouraging in every aspect of my journey as a Ph.D. student. I am appreciative of the support of the rest of my advisory team. I am thankful for the patience and guidance of Amy Diedrich, my secondary supervisor. Her expertise has been most useful in leading the social aspect of my research. I would like to acknowledge the immense support of David Cassells and his wife, Helena. Funding is a crucial component of any research; thanks to the generosity of David and Helena, I was able to complete the fieldwork for this research. They also kindly opened their home to myself and Alliea, not only as a space to unwind but also as a productive space. Additionally, David has spent valuable time reviewing and editing drafts of various manuscripts from this research. I am also thankful to David Singh and Abduallah Ansari, who provided invaluable guidance and support during the fieldwork in Guyana, and subsequently in reviewing drafts of manuscripts from the research. Many thanks to the Environmental Protection Agency of Guyana (especially Diana Fernandes and Indarjit Ramdass), the Department of Environment and Heritage Protection of Australia, and JCU's Human Ethics Research Committee for issuing the necessary permits to conduct the surveys. The Guyana EPA was also most helpful in providing crucial information for the compilation of the checklist (chapter 2). I am indebted to the Guyana Wildlife Division (especially Alona Sankar) and Australia's Wet Tropics Management Authority for their funding support, and to the Guyana Sugar Corporation (Gavin Ramnarain, Ricky and all other employees from the various estates that assisted with data iii collection) for their logistical support. Thanks to the University of Guyana for providing accommodation during fieldwork in Guyana and for allowing me access to their butterfly collection. Special thanks to the following individuals in Guyana: Devendra Peritomby, who assisted with accommodation; Savitri Mohan, who generously provided year-round supply of bananas to make butterfly bait; and Lalita Lallbeharry, who provided storage space for collected butterflies. Huge thanks to the Daintree Discovery Centre, the sugarcane farmers in Australia (Clint Reynolds, Mark Savina, George Wah-Day and Bill Thomas) and the many urban residents of both countries who allowed access to their property to conduct the ecological surveys, and also those who participated in the social surveys. Thanks to JCU's International Student Office, the Graduate Research School, and staff of the College of Science and Engineering and the Division of Tropical Environments and Societies (Leanne Shillitoe, Narelle Parsell, Kylie Brown, Jenni Paul, Jonathan Tindall and others) who have provided some form of assistance during my candidature. Thanks once again to the numerous individuals and organisations/institutions who I have mentioned (as well as those who I have unintentionally failed to mention) in the acknowledgements section of various chapters. Finally, I would like to thank my friends and family who have provided support in one way or another, from providing comical relief to encouraging words at trying times. I am most appreciative of the love and support of Alliea, who has been with me every step of the way in this journey. iv Effects of Land Use on Butterfly (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae) Abundance and Diversity in the Tropical Coastal Regions of Guyana and Australia Hemchandranauth Sambhu, Ph.D. candidate James Cook University, 2018 Supervisors: Tobin Northfield Amy Diedrich David Cassells David Singh Abdullah Ansari Stephen Turton v STATEMENT OF THE CONTRIBUTION OF OTHERS ________________________________________________________ Scholarship Australian Aid Award Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Australian Government Research funding Research grant RC01/2016, The Wildlife Division, Guyana Wildlife Management Authority, Georgetown, Guyana Research grant RC02/2017, The Wildlife Division, Guyana Wildlife Management Authority, Georgetown, Guyana Research donation, David and Helena Cassells, Australia Research grant WTMA/2017/945, Wet Tropics Management Authority, Australia Supervision Primary supervisor: Dr. Tobin D. Northfield Senior Lecturer College of Science and Engineering James Cook University, Cairns, Australia Secondary supervisor: Dr. Amy S. Diedrich Senior Lecturer College of Science and Engineering James Cook University, Townsville, Australia Associate supervisors: Mr. David Cassells Adjunct Professor College of Science and Engineering James Cook University, Townsville, Australia vi Dr. David Singh Vice President and Executive Director Conservation International, Guyana Dr. Abdullah Ansari Professor Department of Biology, Faculty of Natural Sciences University of Guyana, Guyana Dr. Stephen Turton Adjunct Professor Higher Education Division Central Queensland University, Cairns, Australia Permission Permission to conduct biodiversity research, permit number 112814 BR 040, Environmental Protection Agency, Georgetown, Guyana Extension to geographical scope and research period of research permit 112814 BR 040, Environmental Protection Agency, Georgetown, Guyana Take, use, keep or interfere with cultural or natural resources (scientific purpose), permit number WITK16977316, Department of Environment and Heritage Protection, Queensland Government, Australia Scientific purposes permit, permit number WITK16977216, Department of Environment and Heritage Protection, Queensland Government, Australia Human research ethics, permit number H6450, James Cook University, Townsville, Australia Extension of time for research permit H6450, James Cook University, Townsville, Australia vii Publication co-authors Chapter Details of publication Contribution of each author number 2 Sambhu, H., and A. Nankishore. 2018. Butterflies Hemchandranauth Sambhu: conceived the main idea, (Lepidoptera) of Guyana: a compilation of records. conducted the literature research, consulted with taxonomic Zootaxa, 4371(1): 1–187. experts, created tables, and compiled and edited the checklist. http://dx.doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4371.1.1 Alliea